Heat Stroke
by bananafrappe
Summary: The sun always causes me more trouble than I think I deserve. First I have to work in it, then deal with the protectiveness of my overheated teammates and THEN, try to distract my boyfriend from the sunburn on my nose. I hate it, to put things bluntly.


Heat Stroke

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And here I am again, bringing you the joys of my laziness and uninspired mind. Yeah… this is me hoping that by writing __**something**__, I will somehow get my creative juices running and be able to continue working on my other fics. What we have here is another ItaSaku story, cuz I love them. Duh. This will be dedicated to my oldest and greatest friend: the sun. I grew up in a place where the sun shone every day, and I more than fell in love with it. I miss it badly from where I am stuck in stupid, rainy Mississippi, and decided to write a tribute to it. Surprisingly, this will only be a one-shot (surprising because most of my ideas are incredibly large in magnitude and require seven to twenty chapters to complete), and the rating is, as I'm sure you've guessed, M (why does it seem like these are the only kind of stories I am capable of writing?). This is for language, slight amounts of angsting, violence, and explicit sexual content. :D Cuz what kind of ItaSaku story would it be without that? XD onward and forward!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the awesomeness that encompasses the entire Naruto universe. All that I possess is my magnifico laptop, a slightly beat up and overused stuffed horse that provides me with my writing and drawing inspiration, and my sick and twisted imagination, with which I whip the general masses into a ravenous, foaming frenzy._

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Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus, through windows, and through curtains, call on us? Must to thy motions lover's seasons run? ~John Donne~**_

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The sun.

The glorious star that begets all life on the planet earth. Eight hundred and fifty six thousand square miles in size, nine thousand nine hundred and forty-one degrees Fahrenheit in heat, and two duodecillion kilograms in weight. It has been the subject of imagination, examination, and mystification for millions of years. Movies and documentations have been made about it, holidays and religions established around it, and sculptures and endless artistry made for it; all dedicated to the one thing that all civilizations across the planet share. There is nothing more beautiful to be found in the entirety of existence, anywhere in the universe…

And I fucking hated it.

I glared up at the shimmering ball of gas in the sky through the cloudy and cracked skylight above me, wiping yet another deluge of sweat from my forehead and pushing my soaking wet pink bangs from my eyes, hard hat long forgotten at my feet. The cruel entity shone its unforgiving rays across the masses of packing crates, train cars, and barge loaders stretched out across Mangekyo Enterprises' shipping yard undiscriminatorily, heating metal and evaporating water and scorching skin without remorse or conscience. It now hung directly overhead, leaving no shade or shadow greater than inch wide splotches here and there, and everyone that I could see from my perch was trying to utilize them as effectively as they could. I could hardly blame them; I would be doing the same thing if I could. It was my unfortunate duty to have to sit, unprotected from the sun, in a small, enclosed space seven stories off of the ground and smile while I did it. I can't even begin to tell you how hot it was in here. I would literally pay any price for a single cloud to give me a second's reprieve.

Shaking my head and sitting back against the hard, uncomfortable crane operator seat's backrest, I looked down at the whiskered man far below me, his arms signaling me to move the shipping car I was supposed to be relocating to the right and down. My hands moved mechanically to obey his instructions, pulling levers and carefully eyeing the distance to complete the job. Once the large metal box had been set down on a stack of three others, a loud clanging accompanying the action, the blonde man grinned up at me, shooting me a thumbs up and then tapping his wrist meaningfully.

I looked at my watch, squinting through the glaring sunlight to see the numbers on the object before sighing heavily. Lunchtime… I rolled my eyes as the man started rubbing his stomach in mime, switching the crane off and pulling the keys out of the starter. Retrieving my bright orange safety vest from its position on the backrest of my seat, I shrugged back into it (the back of my shirt separating from the seat with a reluctant, sweaty slurp) and placed my hard hat back on my head.

I wasn't looking forward to the next hour; it was my turn to buy lunch for the crew that I worked with, and I just _knew_ they were going to rob me blind for refusing to come out drinking with them last night. That's what comes from working with four voracious and vengeful men, I suppose… why they couldn't take into account that I wasn't getting paid much more than they were I will never know. I didn't have the funds to be going broke on one meal…

God, why hadn't I taken the office job that the head of the company had offered me?

I scoffed as I dismounted the seat I had been sitting in for the past five hours, shouldering the crane door open and climbing out onto the metal grating that surrounded the operator's cabin. I knew perfectly well why I hadn't; to make sure that he had no distractions in a place where he needed his full concentration. Itachi Uchiha, the founder and head of Mangekyo Enterprises, was a great man, a ruthless businessman, and a harsh taskmaster; there was no equal to him and no doubt that he was the best in his trade. His fatal flaw, however, was his insatiable lust. I knew, from the two years that we had been dating, that if I had allowed him to talk me into being his personal secretary like he wanted, neither he nor I would ever get any work done and the whole floor would have nightmares about the goings on in their employer's office.

And besides, having one up on a man like him was more satisfying than I can ever possibly explain.

I snickered at my thoughts, bumping the door with my hip and slamming it closed, before clipping myself into the safety harness awaiting me and beginning the seventy foot descent to the ground below. Truthfully, I really didn't understand his interest in someone like me; a liaison between a multi-billion dollar genius and a struggling lower class woman with not only a blue collar job, but had no college experience as well raised more eyebrows than you might think and didn't make sense in any light that you shone it in, but no one ever told Itachi what to do.

No one.

If the man wanted something, he would get it. No questions asked, no arguments made, and absolutely no exceptions to the rule; he was never denied any of his wants because of who he was, and, by some miracle, he wanted me. Thus, no one would ever vocally protest his choice.

Especially not me.

I had questioned him on the strangeness of our relationship before and the seven hours that he had imprisoned me in his absolutely humongous mansion, physically demonstrating that he required no drive besides loving me, had taught me not to query his motives. _Ever_. Despite the fact that he was an absolute _god_, and being worshiped like I was the focal point of the billionaire's world was more than satisfying, I really couldn't handle his intensity all the time and resist falling even more in love with him. When I was with him for too long, I would think about how much I wanted to share my life with him, and only him, my mind wandering to forbidden scenes featuring weddings and children and sleeping together for more than just one night at a time… but there was a reason that I couldn't let those things reign in my mind.

Itachi's father hated me.

I know what you're thinking… why should that matter? In a relationship, only the opinions of the two people in it should count. Unfortunately, Itachi's family came, to him, even before his company, and his father was one of his lifelong idols. And three weeks previous to now, Itachi had made me come to dinner at his parent's house and the Uchiha senior had let me know exactly what he thought of his son dating a "peasant" like me, in front of the whole family. I just _knew_ that the fact that I was considered lower than a stain on the carpet by Fugaku Uchiha would alienate any thoughts that Itachi had of making me a more permanent part of his life, if he had ever thought anything like that in the first place. Knowing this made me reluctant to risk making him any more close to my heart than he already was (and let me tell you… he was so close I could barely pump enough blood through my body at times), and I had taken up the habit of avoiding him, refusing to sleep with or to go out on any dates with him. This resulted in a largely morose and miserable me and a confused and angry him, and it was swiftly making the best relationship I've ever had fall apart. I was convinced that it was better this way, however…

Even without Itachi's father's approval, our relationship couldn't have lasted forever. Even though I loved him, and he said that he loved me, we were too…contradictory. I was charismatic where he was stoic, I was bright where he was dark (in the hair, nail, and clothing departments), I was messy where he was neat… we weren't alike at all. He would realize this soon, find someone of his class to settle down with… and leave me more empty and alone than should be fair.

But at least he would be happy.

Dropping to the dusty and parched ground with a solid thump, I stepped out of my harness and hung it on the hook by the ladder before turning to face my crew, brushing my depressing thoughts to the side. I looked the men over clinically as they lounged about lazily, obviously waiting for me to finish up so that they could eat. Sasuke was leaning against one of the support bars of the crane I had just descended, thumbs in his belt loops and head tilted back as if greatly enjoying the shade, Naruto was trying his damnedest to shrink his lean, lanky frame down to fit into the bare shiver of shadow that Sasuke was already standing in, and Sai and Kakashi were just finishing up at the shop sink, the water that they had used, presumably, to wash off the hydraulic fluid I could still see spots of on their skin evaporating in the sheer heat of the day.

All four were sweating profusely, which was only to be expected; the sun was unforgiving in its intensity and spared none of the people forced to work under its scorching rays, but some were more fortunate than others… _some_ people had the opportunity to shed the constricting layers of cloth that merely intensified the heat, and as it happened, my teammates were members of the fortunate few… because they were all shirtless.

Bastards…

I glared as Sasuke noticed my jealous perusal of his bare chest, a self-satisfied smirk lifting his upper lip over a sparkling white canine before he purposefully flexed his sweat soaked, glistening (and impressive; I would be a fool to think otherwise) muscles. "See something that you like, Haruno?" he said smugly, looking at me through his eyelashes, and I gave him a sarcastic grin in response before kicking his instep heavily, continuing past him to join the wettest of my crew by the sink and ignoring his affronted cry of pain ("Fuck, woman! Did you forget that you're wearing steel toed boots? You could have broken my fucking foot!").

I stopped next to the sink, leaning a hand on it and deftly disregarding the scene unfolding behind me (Sasuke was hopping around on his uninjured foot, complaining loudly about fractured tarsals, Naruto was following laughingly in his wake, offering him a Band-Aid, and one of the other crews had stopped to look on and laugh quite obviously at the boss's brother's plight). "So did you guys get the packer fixed? You know how much the foreman loves the American loaders, and if we don't have it fixed by quitting time… heads are gonna roll." I said, and Kakashi looked over his bare shoulder at me as he turned the sink faucet off, his dripping silver hair lank and the eye patch over his left eye glistening wetly. "Well, we had it fixed up until about ten minutes ago… we found the problem quick enough, but the seal we put on popped the second that we started it up. We're going to have to fit another one after lunch."

I nodded, switching my gaze over to Sai. "And your theory about the fuel injection system?" He gave me a small smile, rubbing his hair the rest of the way dry and slinging the towel around his neck. "I was right, but it wasn't as big a problem as I had thought; there was just some sludge stuck in it. It's running perfectly now. As soon as we get the new seal on and make sure it's going to stay this time, it'll be fully operational."

I breathed a sigh of relief, slapping him on the back and acknowledging us being joined by the pretty boy of the team, Sasuke still grumbling under his breath and shooting glares at me. If Mr. Hoshigaki had discovered that we had broken one of his beloved loaders, I probably could have looked forward to a suspension; I couldn't afford losing any of the hours I was getting, what with the rent being raised on my apartment and my car insurance nearly doubling because of my rear-ending an asshole cop. "Thank you guys so much; it's good to know that at least somebody was doing their job today." A loud squawk of protest rang out from behind me, and Naruto instantly ran over to join us as well, looking worried. "Hey now, Sak; I was doing my job! I was rigging for you, remember?" I grinned up at him reassuringly, slugging him gently in the stomach. "I wasn't talking about you, you big baka."

He looked relieved for a split second before his head snapped forward, the hard slap that his supposed best friend delivered to the back of his head making him nearly face plant in the dirt and jerking an involuntary yelp from his lips. Sasuke glowered at me through the now vacant space where Naruto had been standing. "Yeah, dobe; she was talking about me, despite the fact that she knows that I've been up to my elbows in scrap since sunrise, making the part that she broke on the Yamaha loader. She's just being a bitch because she's hot and can't take her shirt off like the rest of us." He said, folding his arms and looking down his nose at me knowingly.

I looked right back at him, matching his challenging gaze evenly. "I would take it off if I thought that any of you lechers would get any work done after I did. And _you're_ just being a whiny little shit because I get paid more than you do by your own brother. Now come on guys; the lunch hour is waning, I'm starving, and I'm tired of standing in the sun. Let's go."

As I turned around and started the short trek to the parking lot, the boys followed obediently, striding along in my wake and pulling their shirts back on as they walked. Sasuke walked faster than the rest of them, jogging to catch up with me and falling into step beside me so he could continue our argument. "More money isn't the only thing that you're getting from my brother though, is it?" he said smartly, shrugging into his form fitting wifebeater and brushing his hair back in an extremely vain movement.

I faked a look of surprise, stopping beside my truck to throw my hard hat into the back before unlocking the doors and stepping up into the cab, the boys copying my action and clambering into the back and passenger seats. "Why Sasuke, did I detect a note of _jealousy_ in your tone? I knew that you were gay, but I had no idea that you were into incest…" I purred antagonistically, purposefully forcing myself to leave out mentioning that my and his brother's aforementioned sexual relations probably wouldn't be lasting too much longer, with the way I was alienating myself. He growled warningly in response as the rest of them laughed, the truck rumbling around us as I started it up and pulled out of the shipping yard's parking lot.

"I will not refute the fact that I am jealous, but my jealousy isn't focused on my _beloved_ brother, and we are both very well aware of that. I could counter your opinion on my sexuality as well if you would just lighten up and let me show you…" he said silkily, leaning over the back of my seat and grabbing on to my breast abruptly.

I snorted, not even bothering to make the effort to remove his hand from my chest because the second that Sasuke had made the bold move, he was ripped away from me by his best friend, head firmly planted under the blonde man's arm in a strong headlock. "Sasuke-teme, don't molest Sakura! You remember what happened last time!" Naruto warned his struggling friend, and I shared an amused look with the older man seated beside me, his gaze focused on me over the top of the pornography magazine that he kept with him at all times, then chuckled and shook my head, turning back to making my way down the dirt road that lead to the yard and onto the highway leading back into town.

Sasuke Uchiha was a very proud man, for having fallen so far from grace in his family (he had been disowned and disinherited by his father after failing out of college due to his bad habit of never waking up on time and, overall, not caring about his schooling), and my relationship with his brother had affected him greatly; he saw it as a slight on his own attractiveness (I could only be grateful that he knew that I wasn't in it for the money), since I had known him longer than Itachi, and had been pursuing me relentlessly ever since Itachi and I had gone public. I really didn't understand why… it wasn't like I had mindfully chosen Itachi over Sasuke; Itachi had been supervising my crew and I one day, had his attention caught, apparently, by the fact that I was the only woman in the entire yard that hadn't slept with someone to get to where I was, and had instantly offered a date to get to know me better. I am ashamed to admit that I did sleep with him after the extremely expensive and fancy dinner, but the request to date steadily the morning that I woke up beside him more than made up for the embarrassment. We had been next to inseparable ever since (though I had refused to move in with him when he offered and was currently engaged in trying to drive us apart), but I can see how I could have had much the same relationship with Itachi's younger brother (I had once had a crush on him, some years ago, but had overcome it when he turned down my wish to date him), if Sasuke were as polite and caring as Itachi was. My boyfriend didn't mind his brother's pursuit of me too much, since I had no real interest in Sasuke, but that hadn't stopped him from putting Sasuke in the hospital for slapping my ass when he had been present.

Men will be men, I suppose.

Once the empty fields and sparse trees of the underused farmland that surrounded the city had faded into houses and busy intersections, I decided it would be a good time to figure out how my boys would be bankrupting me today. "So what's it going to be today, guys? And no ramen, Naruto; I want real food, not soup." He audibly deflated as Sasuke finally managed to wrest his head from underneath his armpit, making a disgusted face and shuddering as he pushed the whiskered man away an arm's length. "Fuck, dobe, haven't you ever heard of deodorant? You smell like you're a herd of fucking cows." He said, coughing dramatically before leaning back in his seat, purposefully planting his knees in the back of my seat and making me lean forward to avoid the uncomfortable bumps. "I vote Burger King." he suggested, and was immediately shot down, all of us making disparaging noises in response.

Naruto took the greatest offense to his suggestion, miming puking on the floor while I paused at a particularly slow red light. "Ew, Sasuke, _Burger King_? That shit is disgusting. Let's go to McDonald's. They're doing the Monopoly thing again, and I'm sure I'm going to win something this time! Believe it!" he shouted, receiving another slap to the head from Sasuke for his exuberance. "You never win anything, dead last loser. Besides, we had McDonald's yesterday. If none of you want Burger King, which, by the way, is _not_ disgusting, then what about Taco Bell?"

I shrugged, inwardly pleased with this suggestion. They had good food for cheap; maybe I would end up having enough money to make it to the end of the week for once… _come on guys… pick that one… don't take all my money again…_

Unfortunately for me, Sai was thinking the same thing and immediately called me on it.

"We can't do that; the food is way too cheap. Sakura's buying today, remember? Let's hit Ryan's." he said brightly, grinning at me through the rearview mirror, and much to my discontent, the rest of them agreed, clamoring for the copious amounts of food that they would soon be receiving heartily. I groaned, signaling the turn that would take me to the restaurant reluctantly. "You guys suck, you know that? Why do I put up with you?" Kakashi shrugged noncommittally from behind his Playboy while Sai muttered something about me needing a drinking partner that wouldn't start hitting on me after the first three rounds, Sasuke proudly exclaimed my secret lust for him and my inability to let him escape because of it, and Naruto leaned forward and rubbed his knuckles against my head affectionately, setting his chin on my shoulder and grinning widely.

"Because you love us, Sakura! We're your best friends ever!"

I rolled my eyes, shoving his hand away with a grumpy scowl. "That's a sad commentary in and of itself, Naruto." I said blandly, making the boys all sit up straight and make indignant complaints about the comment, but I knew that Naruto was right. I had never been the kind of girl to bond with other women; I had always been bored with playing jump rope and hopscotch and gossiping with the girls, and, as such, had gone footballing and mud wrestling and video game playing with the boys. Obviously, this resulted in me having almost no female friends; I could count the ones that had on one hand. These men, about a dozen at the yard, and Itachi pretty much consisted of my social life, and I wasn't concerned about it at all. I mean, it wasn't like I wasn't prone to moments of extreme femininity, but for the most part… I was just one of the guys.

Pulling up in the parking lot of the buffet, I switched the truck off and jumped out (I had to jump, with the several feet the truck was held above the ground and the shortness of my legs), closely followed by the four men I worked with. The lot was full nearly to bursting, since it was lunchtime, and the rays from the ever cruel sun made the air shimmer in waves of heat, oily clouds rising from the pavement and cars alike. I put a hand over my eyes to shade them, squinting up at the sun unhappily. "What's it supposed to get up to today?" I queried broadly as we walked together to the double doors of the building. "One oh four. I heard it's one twelve higher in the state; that's a record." Kakashi supplied helpfully, holding the door open for me, and I nodded gratefully before entering the building, closely followed by a once again miffed Sasuke.

"Why am I the only one that isn't allowed to do things for you? If I had held the door open for you, I would have gotten kicked in the balls." He complained sulkily, and I rolled my eyes while enjoying the air conditioned coolness rolling over me. "Because no one else that does nice things for me is expecting to get in my pants in return." I replied, glancing over my shoulder and dodging the hand that he had extended towards my posterior, intent obvious. Naruto snickered as he walked in behind us, intruding on the often visited conversation happily.

"Yeah, teme; maybe if you acted like you _weren't_ a dog in heat, you could convince her that you weren't as bad as you really are, get her to trust you, and then "accidentally" fall into bed with her later on." He commented brightly, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders. Sasuke actually looked contemplative of this, eyeing me thoughtfully, and I grimaced and punched Naruto in the stomach (hard this time), glaring up at the whiskered man disapprovingly.

"Don't give him any ideas, Naruto…" I said warningly before turning to the hostess, smiling apologetically for my friend's actions (Naruto had yelped loudly when I punched him, causing Sasuke to punch him as well, snickering over the man's low pain tolerance; Naruto responded with a low verbal blow directed towards Sasuke's unsuccessful attempts to woo me, and Sasuke was now attempting to strangle him and being cheered on by my other two teammates. Their activities were quite loud and distracting and instantly drew the attention of any and all of the people within ten feet). "Five please." I said sweetly, and she nodded before ringing us up. "That will be forty two dollars and sixty cents. Take a seat anywhere you can find one." She replied, looking over our dusty attire, sweaty skin, and heavy work boots with a slightly wrinkled nose.

The instant that I had handed the required money to the woman the boys disentangled themselves from their comadre, charging past me and over to the buffet stands while arguing over who would be the one to eat the most. I followed shortly afterwards, stuffing the foot long receipt in my pocket and coming to stand with them where they had very politely waited for me. "Remember not to eat the butterscotch pudding, guys; we don't want another episode of the last time we were here…" I warned as I picked up a plate from the pile on the closest counter to me, and they all nodded before beginning to pile food on their own plates.

I had to admit, as I walked among the different sections of foods, that the overpriced buffet was somewhat worth it; the food was excellent here. As long as you made sure to get it when it was first put out by the workers, learned what to look for when it came to cooking doneness, and strategically avoided the golden yellow pudding sitting innocently beside the chocolate mousse, you would have yourself a good meal. I could look forward to feeling wonderfully full and satisfied by the end of the lunch hour…

As long as the boys could behave themselves, at least.

Five minutes after entering the restaurant found me squished in between the broad shoulders of two of my friends, the booth we sat at nearly too small for the five of us as we stuffed our faces to our hearts content. A light argument was taking place between those who were interested enough to participate, about half of the other patrons of the store were staring at us strangely, and I was continually slapping Sasuke's hands, as they kept somehow making their way over to my legs underneath the table.

"I'm telling you, Naruto, there was absolutely no way that the Saints were going to make it any farther than the first playoff game. They barely made it in anyway, and they've seriously sucked this year." Kakashi commented through the mashed potatoes he had just stuffed in his mouth, Sai nodding in agreement with his statement and Naruto slamming his hand onto the tabletop, making our drinks jump and knocking over the pepper shaker.

"You're wrong! They were just a little jumped up; if it hadn't been for those crap calls the ref made, they would have gone all the way! Believe it! They've done a great job…" I interrupted him by throwing one of the peas rolling across the table at his head. "Where have you been the past two months? Every single one of their games has been _pathetic_, and it has nothing to do with the referees. They've been letting stupid as hell plays get past them, they had half the good players out with major injuries… it was never gonna happen this year." He glared at me over the piece of nearly raw steak hanging from his mouth, wiping the overdone and splattered pea off of his forehead. "Whose side are you on, Sakura? I thought that the Saints were your team." I shrugged, leveling a glare at a slyly smirking Sasuke as he took advantage of my distracted state to scoot a few inches closer to me, tracing his fingers up my leg unabashedly. "They are, but I can still be objective about their performance. I wanted them to win just as much as you do, but…"

"You think that she sleeps with all of them?" "Yeah, I bet … she probably switches between each of them every night of the week… she looks like a cheap whore…"

We all instantly fell silent as the rude conversation traveled to where we could hear it, the group of two men talking about us from two tables over looking at us unobtrusively, eyeing me with disgust. My throat tightened at the unfairness of the judgment, but I had to be strong and pretend that it didn't affect me for two reasons. One: as a woman in my line of work, I had heard such insults, and worse, more than once and if I were to keep my pride about me, I couldn't let assumptions that were invariably untrue affect me. Two: if the men who were glaring daggers at those slighting me caught on to how much the insults had affected me, those men would never escape their just fates.

I think that, in all fairness, I could once again blame the sun for my plight; it was a well-known fact that heat made blood run faster and tempers run higher, and the boys had been out in the sun all day. If they hadn't been, I believe I might have been more successful in quelling their anger. I could, on most occasions, talk them down from their rages and convince them to not do anything if someone was talking about me negatively. But from the sheer hate radiating from their flushed faces and the way their sweat streaked muscles were clenched, I had a really bad feeling that I would have absolutely no sway over them this time.

Thank you, sun. I officially hate you.

As the two continued their conversation, not bothering to keep it quiet or any less offensive, I had to literally grab ahold of the two men sitting beside me, curling my fingers tightly around both of their belts to keep them seated. Both Naruto and Sasuke were practically snarling in fury, muscles tight, fists clenched, and jaws locked in their anger. "Don't do anything… just ignore them… I'm fine…" I whispered, but Naruto shook his head and tried to push my hand away, eyes locked on the two men unwaveringly. "Let go, Sakura. You can't tell me that you're just going to sit here and make us listen to them smear you like that." he muttered, and the two men that I wasn't restraining growled in agreement, Kakashi's fork bent in half in his fist and Sai cracking his knuckles meaningfully.

I shook my head desperately, pleading with them with my eyes as best I could while holding down two men that were at least three times as strong as I was. Sasuke snarled bitterly, hands shaking in restraint as the two men continued, outlining how much of a slut I probably was. "I'm so fucking _sick_ of how you let people talk about you… every time we ever go anywhere it happens, and _every_ time that it does, you act like this. You won't defend yourself and you try to stop us from taking care of it for you. You don't _deserve_ this kind of treatment, Sakura… _let_ us show them what not to assume for once. Don't make us ignore you for your own good again."

I made a sound of protest, clinging to the men even harder. "I can't! Do you know how much trouble you have all caused over things like this? Getting in fights so much while on the clock is a good way to ensure me being forced to fire you guys, and I can't do that! You need these jobs even more than I do! Please… don't make it so bad that Itachi has to hear about it…" Sasuke looked down at me, for once not bothering with the seductive looks that he constantly fixed me with; his eyes were deadly in their sincerity and chilling in their ire. "Well, maybe he _should_ hear about it. If he knew what you were being called… if he knew about _any_ of this, any at all, he wouldn't stand for it; he would do something about it and then no one would _ever_ badmouth you again."

All of the men agreed, gazes locked on their oblivious prey, but I shook my head again. Itachi was the most professional person that I knew; if something pertained to work then it would stay that way. Me being his girlfriend wouldn't make him more inclined to help me above any of his other workers… and he was mad at me as it was. And even if he felt like doing something like that for me (which he wouldn't), I wouldn't want him to. "He has no time for that kind of thing… he has a company to run, thousands of other employees to worry about… he doesn't need to be bothered by something as trivial as me being insulted a little." They all looked back at me in wrathful consternation, ready to correct me, but were distracted by the latest of the bellicose comments from my critiques. "Hey, maybe she doesn't sleep with them at all… probably a lesbian if she works with all those guys."

I don't know why it hurt me as much as it did, but just having someone assume that I could be something so… far from what I really was made tears of sheer hurt rise to my eyes, and the second that my teammates saw them, their patience snapped, my pleas nothing compared to their indignation over my tears.

Before I could even blink they were gone, wrestling the very surprised men to the ground and pummeling them without restraint. Tables, chairs, and uneaten food flew about to clear the way for my enraged friends while they administered their justice, the other patrons of the restaurant fleeing either to the parking lot or a safe distance so that they could observe the bloodshed in a classically American way (cheering and whistling for more violence); I merely sat at the table and shook my head, cringing when something else got broken and despairing. I could only hope that no one called the police…

After a few minutes of ruthless carnage, the two were hauled up and presented to me, looking distinctly worse for wear (the short, chubby one that Sasuke and Naruto were supporting had an obviously broken nose and looked like he was going to be sick, and the one with the long blonde hair in between Sai and Kakashi could barely see through the swelling around his eyes). "Now…" Kakashi growled, shaking the man he was restraining hard. "Say that again, to her face. We dare you."

My friend's grips tightened warningly, their faces grim and foreboding, and each of the purveyors shook their heads, looking up at me fearfully. Sasuke scoffed, his lip curled in disgust. "That's what we thought. Fucking _pussies_. Now apologize to her." They both stammered out halting apologies, trembling so much that their voices shook, before they were released roughly by my team, Naruto kicking the pudgy man in the side partingly. "You'd better hope that we never see you wusses again. Now get out of our sight." He snarled, and the two beaten men scrambled to obey, running out of the buffet like the hounds of hell were at their heels.

My crew laughed as they beat their hasty retreat before looking back at me with wide, self-satisfied grins. I looked over the smashed chairs and tables that they stood in the middle of sadly before dropping my head into my hands, the ominous blare of police sirens becoming audible and growing closer by the second. Damn it… what had they done? I sighed heavily, looking back up at my friends miserably.

"We're in deep shit now, guys."

* * *

As luck would have it, the manager of that particular Ryan's was a very close friend of Kakashi's, so we somehow wrangled our way out of getting arrested. We had to give our names and work information to the police so that they could complete their report, however, and just that made me want to find a hole to go hide in for the rest of my life. This had happened too many times, and the damage this time… I had a really bad feeling that one of my superiors was going to finally have enough and take action.

I had known ever since the fights had started that someday, I was going to have to take the fall for their actions and face the music, but I had hoped that day would be far in the future. I didn't know, now.

The rest of the scorchingly hot afternoon was spent with me fidgeting nervously, jumping guiltily every time someone called out to me and wringing my hands anxiously. The boys tried to reassure me that everything would be alright and that the fight would be overlooked, just like always, but I couldn't help but notice that they didn't look as sure of themselves as they usually did, and that didn't make me feel any better.

By the time that we were standing at the time card station, clocking out for the day, I was so wound up that my hands were shaking. On top of that I was so sweaty and greasy that I was afraid of being mistaken for a hobo, my rubber band had gotten tangled in my heat frazzled hair (I could look forward to having to rip out some of my hair to get it out), and I had a very red, very unattractive sunburn spread prominently across my nose.

I was very happy to curse the sun now; it was causing me far more than my fair share of trouble.

I had just punched my card, sliding it back into the rack along with all the others, when the door to the foreman's office slammed open and the man himself stepped out, his orange safety vest contrasting strangely with his blue skin. He looked distinctly unhappy, his eyes narrowed and mouth turned down in a grimace. "Haruno!" he barked, taking me by surprise and making me drop my truck keys nervously. "Yes sir?" I queried quietly, looking up at him with wide eyes as he stared at me disapprovingly, and he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "Get your skinny ass in here. We need to _talk_."

I nodded mutely as he turned his back and stormed back into his office, looking over my shoulder at my crew anxiously. They didn't offer me any real encouragement, merely looking as nervous as I felt, so I smiled at them bravely before I bent to pick up my keys and turned to walk slowly over to the foreman's trailer, my fear building with every step. I had never been called into the yard foreman's office for anything after my initial interview to get the job in the first place, and everyone who was waiting in line at the time card station knew it; I could hear them muttering to each other behind me, their eyes on the back of my head making my hair stand on end. I didn't want to think the worst of the situation and was trying to convince myself that he had merely found out about the American loader breaking, but I had an inkling that it was more than that, and as such my footsteps grew shorter, my fear grew larger, and my hope grew smaller.

_Please don't be about the fight… please dear __**god**__…_

Once I had finally reached the dusty and bent up trailer door, it took me a few moments to gather enough courage to even open it. Would it really be that bad if I ran away screaming right now? I never got the chance to find out if it would be because, miraculously, I did find it within myself to push the door open and enter the cold, cool office. The glow of the fluorescent light bulbs being used to brighten the room made spots float across my vision as I closed the door behind me, the dimmer light inside causing temporary blindness. I wasn't sure that I liked the seemingly near darkness of the trailer (compared to the overly bright expanse of land outside), but at least it wasn't hot.

Once my vision had returned, I looked across the sparsely decorated room to where the foreman, Kisame Hoshigaki, sat behind his desk, his boots propped up on the surface. He glared at me forebodingly before pointing at one of the chairs sitting in front of the papered and overflowing desk, and I scurried over and gingerly lowered myself into it, twisting my fingers together and looking up at the large man meekly. "If you don't mind me asking, sir… what is this about? We completed everything on our agenda for today; we even found time to work on getting the Yamaha loader operational again…" I began, hopeful that he would start yelling at me about the other loader now that I had brought it up, but he merely waved a hand to cut me off, rubbing at his temples as if warding away a headache. "Just shut up, girl. I know that you know why I've brought you here, and it has nothing to do with the exemplary work your team has been doing."

I swallowed heavily, fear prickling at my spine. "I… I really don't know…" I stammered, and he rolled his eyes. "Stop while you're ahead, Haruno. You aren't stupid, and it's useless to pretend that you are when you've been working with me for as long as you have. You must have known that this was going to happen eventually. I can't keep covering for you whenever I get calls and complaints from this restaurant and that gas station about your crew fighting and destroying something… and today was too much. Two thousand dollars' worth of damage… a threat to sue… police involvement… this is above me."

My heart stuttered a beat, and I sat forward in my seat, hands clenching on my knees. "So… so you only had to call the insurance manager, right? It won't… it won't be that bad?" I forced out, biting at my bottom lip, and he gave me a half-hearted look of expectance. "They want to sue the company itself, kid. I had to call the office."

Full blown fear replaced the small prickles, making my back spring ramrod straight. "The office" was a mere pseudonym; what he really meant was that he had been forced to speak with the only person capable of handling such a sensitive area… Itachi.

Shit.

My throat tightened so much that I could barely breathe, my gaze dropping to my knees. If Itachi had had to deal with this himself, then there was no doubt that I would have to face him. It was his company, I was his employee, it was his duty to reprimand his workers according to their crimes, and… I had a really bad feeling that I was about to lose my job, my relationship, and all the friends that I had in one fell swoop. If he fired me, I would have to also fire my friends, they would hate me, and the strain on Itachi and me would finally drive us apart permanently. The situation seemed completely and utterly hopeless.

And I had woken up this morning thinking it would be a good day.

"… What did he say?" I asked quietly, my voice small and frail, and he gave me a look of pity that looked strange on his face. "He wants you at the Corp. office, pronto. Said to send your crew home, come by yourself, and that he expects you to be there in no more than half an hour. I've gotta warn you, girl… he didn't sound surprised or even mad when I was talking to him, and if I know him at all, which I do, then he's pissed the fuck off. I just… I hope you don't get fired over this, because I'd hate to lose my most productive crew. If you do though… it's been good working with you, and I'll gladly lend you a recommendation at one of the other yards around here." He said softly, and I nodded before standing up, fidgeting absentmindedly with the Velcro fastening on my vest to keep my hands occupied with something. "Thank you… I really appreciate everything that you've done to keep me out of trouble thus far and… yeah… I'd better go. You know how much he hates being kept waiting…" I muttered, and he made a noise of agreement, waving his hand towards the door.

Taking this as my invitation to leave, I walked over to the door and exited the building without a backwards glance, walking straight into my team where they had obviously been waiting for me to reemerge. They immediately converged on me, not speaking but waiting expectantly for me to tell them what had happened with worried eyes. I looked up at them tiredly, hiding my gut-wrenching fear well. "Itachi wants to see me at the corporate office." I said shortly, and their faces tightened with concern. Naruto slung an arm over my shoulders comfortingly, squeezing me lightly. "Don't worry, Sakura, we'll come with you and help explain! We won't let you get the sack for something that you didn't do!" They all nodded, agreeing completely, but I shook my own head, stepping out from under his arm and patting his shoulder. "I appreciate it, guys… but he said to send you home. Besides, I'm the crew leader here… I'm responsible for your actions and I have to take the repercussions for what you do on the company's time. Don't worry; it'll be fine. I'll call after… after I talk to him."

They didn't look pleased by this, obviously wanting to continue to try to talk me into letting them come with me, but I turned my back and walked away, walking quickly so that I would make it to the office in the offered time. If there was anything that Itachi hated, it was someone being late and making him wait. I was just getting into my truck, hoisting my small frame up into the vehicle, when a strong hand caught my arm, making me look back into the face of my flirty friend. I rolled my eyes, trying to shake him off. "Sasuke, I don't have time for this right now. You know better than anyone else that your brother…" I began, glaring at him when he didn't release me, and he cut me off hurriedly, meeting my glare with one of his own. "Don't do this, Sakura. Don't go by yourself; he won't have any choice but to fire you if he doesn't know why we've been getting into these fights. He needs to know." He said forcefully, but I shook my head, tugging my arm from his hand successfully and scoffing bitterly. "He won't care, Sasuke. He will do what's best for his company no matter what he knows about and what he doesn't. I'm not going to waste his time with unnecessary information. Go home; I'll let you know how it goes later."

With that said, I slammed the door in his face, starting up my truck and backing out of my spot in the parking lot. I drove faster than I should have on the road into town, speeding around slower cars and trucks with caution, but I didn't particularly care at the moment. I was too worried about the impending conversation I had to have with my boss and boyfriend. I might not have been the most conscientious of drivers, and I _might_ have sped through a couple of yellow lights I should have stopped at, but I did manage to make it to the corporate office building of Mangekyo Enterprises in record time, finding a spot in the crowded parking area quickly and speeding through one of the sets of double doors leading into the fifteen story building. Stepping out of the heat of the day was, once again, a godsend, but I had little time and no mind to appreciate it as I quick walked through the lobby and over to the double set of elevators waiting at the end.

I had five minutes to be at Itachi's door on the top floor, and that was the only thing that I was going to let myself focus on.

Looking up at the numbers over the elevator doors, I sighed in exasperation to discover that they were both already ascending, up around the tenth and twelfth floors. It would take them forever to finish what they were already doing and come back down to get me… glancing around hurriedly, I quickly spotted the stairwell and hurried over to it, throwing the door open and sprinting as quickly as I could up the flights of stairs. This was a stroke of genius, I thought, despite the few people that I had to dodge and the sleeping janitor that I had to hurtle over somewhere around the eighth floor; this was the fastest way to get to the top of the building, though I could understand why no one else took this way but health conscious people… I was panting heavily and my muscles hurt more than they normally did after a day of hard work at the shipping yard, sweat of sheer exertion replacing that of the sweat that had come to protect me from the scorching sun.

Yeah, I was going to make a _great_ impression on him.

Finally reaching the top floor, I burst through the door and into the quiet space, my boss's secretary looking up at me cursorily before looking back down at her computer disdainfully, one hand rising to brush a lock of gleaming blue hair from her forehead as I approached, breath heavy. "He said to send you inside when you got here; he had an urgent call away to the housing department and will be back shortly." She said informatively, gesturing to the door beside her desk minutely, and I nodded and walked over to it, placing my hand on the doorknob before turning back to look at her queryingly. Depending on Itachi's mood, I would either just get fired, get chewed out and get fired, or get yelled at and get fired. I would rather know now so I could prepare myself. "So, uh… he had an alright day?" I asked quietly, and she glanced up at me in amusement. "Byakugan Industries challenged his claim on crate handling, had one of his partners walk out on him, and has to deal with a potential lawsuit. No, he didn't have a good day." She said smugly, obviously knowing the reason behind me asking, and I swallowed hard before nodding and pushing the door open, entering the personal office of Itachi Uchiha.

It was much different from the yard foreman's office, the wide, open space Itachi worked in clean and neat to the extreme. Besides the desk and chairs that he had in front of the large picture windows that formed one of the walls of the room, he had a comfortable sofa and lounge chair set laid out in one of the corners, plants and calming pictures by his favorite artist placed strategically around the walls, and a small kitchenette area beside the door that led to his bathroom for when he was too busy to go anywhere else to get food or coffee. It was a comfortable room, one that I had sat and talked with him in on more than one occasion, but now everything in here looked hard, sharp and cold; it might have been my imagination and my fear making me think it, but I felt like I was suddenly very unwelcome here.

I sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk (which, I have to say, is much cleaner than Kisame's; the few papers that were on the top were stacked neatly in the center, as if about to be used, and the other implements set on top, namely a jar of pens and his computer monitor, were obviously placed so that they would be of the greatest use and appearance), self-consciously trying to keep from getting any of the grease covering me on the expensive leather I was seating myself on. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in the silence of the room as I watched a few sparse clouds scuttle by in the distant sky, and I nervously picked at a rip in my jeans while I waited for my employer's return. All this waiting wasn't helping my nerves any; the jitters shaking my fingers as I traced the torn edge of the material sheathing my legs were only getting worse, and I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that refused to be assuaged.

I tried to reassure myself, but nothing that I could think of made me feel any better.

I was just looking back at the clock, beginning to wonder if he would be coming back at all, when the office door slammed open to admit the owner of the room (and the building itself), making me turn back around quickly in mortification. The little that I had seen of his expression confirmed my fears, however; his mouth was downturned at the ends, eyes narrowed and jaw tight. He was letting his discontent show…

He must be beyond rage.

His footsteps were measured and calculating as he shut the door behind himself and walked across the room, rounding me and his desk to seat himself across from me. It took me a few moments to force myself to look up into the face of my impending doom, but when I did I was not reassured; he was looking at me disapprovingly over steepled fingers, dark grey eyes examining me closely. After a few more silent seconds of looking me over (I had looked back down the instant I had met his eyes, too mortified to hold his gaze) he snorted softly, picking up one of the pieces of paper on his desk and glancing at it before beginning.

"Crew leader Sakura Haruno. Crane operator, crane mechanic, barge loader, and locomotive loader. Certified in the fields in which you work, paid about half of what you deserve to make for the jobs that you do, and not a single complaint lodged against you in the three years that you have worked for me. Impressive, but the same cannot be said for the crew that you hired to help you. They are good workers, this cannot be contested… but their behavior also cannot. Fifteen fights while on the clock, just in the past four weeks. Twenty-one complaints in the same time frame. Three police investigations, a threat to sue my company for their conduct, and ten _thousand_ dollars' worth of damages allotted. _Explain_."

His tone was sharp, cold, and unforgiving, and when he practically ordered me to explain the reason that we were sitting here I flinched visibly, shrinking down into the chair I was seated in. So that's how it was going to be… this would be completely professional; the fact that I had slept with him obviously held no merit in the light of this event (and potentially because of how mean I had been being to him lately), and I would have to take whatever reprimand that he delivered with no hope for mercy.

This was not a comforting thought.

I gulped noisily, twisting my hands together in my lap and keeping my eyes on my jumbled fingers. "Well, It… sir… I-I would like to say that there is a good reason for all of the trouble that my crew has been getting into, but I… I can't." I muttered quietly, nearly forgetting that we were in a business discussion and almost calling him by his name, and he sniffed, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Is that so? Well, I think that, since this reason is costing me a great deal of money, I want to hear what it is, whether it is a good excuse or not." I nodded shortly, forcing back a fearful tremble. "You see… sir… there are people that… judge me harshly for my line of work, and my crew doesn't take kindly to their comments, more often than not taking action to put them to a stop. If it makes it any better, sir, I am sorry for all of the problems they are causing you…"

He was silent for a few moments after my explanation, merely sitting still and watching me quietly, before he leaned back forward and shuffled the papers sitting in front of him, withdrawing another from the stack. When he spoke again, his tone had softened, losing the hard edge that had possessed it earlier. "You aren't telling me the full truth, Ms. Haruno. Would you like for me to expound on what you are leaving out?" Eyes wide but still focused on my knees, I nodded hesitantly, and he continued.

"You have purposefully overlooked mentioning that they only get into these physical disagreements because you refuse to stand up for yourself or tell those who could more than easily help you. Obviously, I find contest with this behavior; it is very foolish of you to think that you would not receive the assistance that you require because those who could help are too busy or don't care, because that is most certainly not true." I finally glanced up at him, quickly looking over his expression with shock. How could he have known what I had said? There was no way…

"How do you know about that?" I queried hesitantly, looking over his shoulder instead of meeting his eyes directly, and he put the paper he was holding down, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his dark bangs out of his eyes with a toss of his head. "As it happens, your crew members managed to beat you here and informed me of the real problem; it turns out that my brother is more displeased with you suffering for a crime that you didn't commit than he is over not having you for himself, and your friends are quite offended by being left out of your punishment… I will have to thank them for their admition someday. But more to the point; can you attest to the factuality of their claims?" he asked conversationally, and I nodded mutely, looking back down at my lap. I could kill the guys for this… how dare they intrude when I was trying to be a martyr?

Itachi made a sound of understanding, his chair creaking as he moved in it. "Very well… this changes things then. I am glad; I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get rid of the crew that has made me more money than they know. Now if we can come to an understanding of what _does_ need to occur, then…" He paused suddenly, falling silent for a long moment, and I looked up at him after a few seconds, meeting his gaze directly and blushing at the intensity with which he was regarding me.

I was very taken aback when he started to laugh.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he chuckled, shaking his head and letting his forearm rest against his desktop. I could only stare as he obviously found mirth in something to do with our conversation, and after a few seconds of his rich, velvety laughter washing over us, he sat up, looking over me with the gaze that I was more used to meeting; his eyes were brighter and kinder, his mouth turned up in the signature smirk that any Uchiha worth their salt could pull off. He brushed his bangs back with a carefree hand, mirroring his brother's earlier motion but somehow making it not vain, but sexy, and looked across the desk at me with obvious contentment.

"I have tried to stay professional, but it is next to impossible with that unbelievable sunburn. How in the world did you manage to only burn your nose?" he asked, revealing that his hilarity was at my expense, and I pouted, folding my arms and turning my head away in a brave show of denial. It was brave because his change from boss to boyfriend only made the situation worse; it wouldn't have been easy to deal with his coldness, but it was a whole different story being faced with the dilemma that I had foisted on myself. He had me trapped in here for as long as he desired, he obviously had every intention of using that time to his advantage… and he would want to know why I had been being such a bitch to him lately.

And that was a question that I didn't want to answer.

He watched me for a moment or two longer before shrugging, sitting back in his chair comfortably. "You do not have to answer that if you do not desire to, I suppose. I would appreciate a response to my next question, however; if what my brother and your friends said is true, then I have but one concern… are you alright? A woman such as you may pretend to be hard and resilient, but I know you for what you truly are… someone so loving and gentle and innocent does not deserve such assumptions being made about them."

I bit my lower lip at the care and concern that emanated from his voice before nodding firmly, keeping my eyes averted. I couldn't give in and let him win me over with his nearly irresistible sincerity… there was a good reason that I was being distant, remember? "I've heard and been called worse…" I muttered nearly silently, but he wasn't satisfied with my denial of his statement, his smirk twitching down and chair creaking as he stood in response. I froze anxiously as he rounded his desk and came to stand in front of me, looking down at me humorlessly. "That is not what I asked you, blossom." He said quietly, and I swallowed before nodding again. "I'm fine… Itachi."

He looked down on me, eyes unreadable, before he shook his head minutely, taking my chin and making me look up at him without hurting me. His gaze was heavy with concern as his long, elegant fingers traced down my jaw, and he gave me a reproving look. "It would behoove you to tell the truth, Sakura." He said shortly before taking a step back and holding his hand out, the silent offer not one of choice; I was to take his hand and let him pull me up. There were no other options.

He was really making it hard for me to resist him… but what harm could there be in letting him touch me a little? It's not like it could hurt any, or like he planned on having sex with me…

I reluctantly acquiesced, placing my dirty hand in his larger palm, and he drew me up with no trouble, slowly pivoting us both and walking me backwards until I bumped up against the edge of his desk. He continued to move forward despite my own continued motion being hindered, only stopping when he was pressed against the length of my body lightly. His arms settled at my sides on the top of his desk while he bent down and gently pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You should not tell such boldfaced lies to your employer, sweet one… much less to your significant other and longtime lover. I have known you for too long to not know that the things that you have been called hurt you deeply. I would like for you to allow me to remedy such feelings."

Ooookay, I was wrong; he _was_ planning on having sex with me.

I immediately tried to push him away, heart hammering in my chest and desperate to escape. Having sex with him while I was trying to ruin our relationship wouldn't make me any stronger… "Itachi, I said that I was fine. I really don't…" I started to say, but I was silenced effectively by his lips slanting across mine, his hands circling my waist and forcing me against his chest roughly. The kiss was entirely unexpected, though most certainly not unpleasant, and before I knew it I was kissing him back, restraining my hands to my sides since I had no desire to get greasy fingerprints on the fine material of his suit but meeting the insistent push of his lips with near or equal gusto despite my attempts to resist.

You try to deny your instincts when a sex god is making out with you.

When he pulled away after a few heated seconds of deep, heavy kissing, his eyes had a fire that I had seen before lighting them, cluing me in to the fact that my chances of unravaged escape were dwindling quickly. His breaths were deep and measured as he reached a hand around from where he had tangled it into my frazzled hair, brushing some of my sweat encrusted bangs from my eyes gently. "It has been too long since we have been together, my flower. I desire to be one with you again." He muttered huskily, hands traveling down to my waist and tracing over my hipbones lightly, and I hesitated slightly. He didn't seem to be as angry as I had counted on him to be… and I _needed_ his anger. I needed him to be mad at me so that I could remember why I had been sleeping alone for the past three weeks and not give in to him like I always inevitably did, and his geniality was throwing me off and making me want to give him what he desired. We couldn't work… his family hated me… we were too different… I tried to pull away again, shaking my head and edging sideways. "No, Itachi, I really don't think that would be the best ide…"

I was silenced by an annoyed growl this time, his grip on my waist tightening and halting my progress with ease. The next second I found myself being bodily lifted up onto the surface of the desk, the man holding me prisoner brushing my legs apart and standing between them while glaring down at me passionately. He leaned down and took my chin in his hand again, forcing my gaze up to his and holding it there. "I have grown weary of hearing the word "no" from your lips, Sakura-hime. I intend to have my way with you this day, and you _will_ give in to me." He murmured heatedly before bending down and trailing his lips down my neck, making an unwillingly aroused shiver run up my spine. How in the world had me getting fired turned into this? I didn't know, but I wouldn't go down without at least putting up something of a fight. I did have my pride to uphold, after all.

I pressed my hand to his chest, pushing him away with all my might. "Itachi, I don't want to…" I began, but him pushing me in return took me by surprise, my back landing flat on the top of his desk forcing my silence again as he hovered over me, his annoyance replaced by cocky sexual understanding. "I take contest with that statement, lover. You may not want to right now, but you will... You will desire me as much as I desire you, and you will _beg_ for completion before I give you your end." He whispered in a sultry, velvety tone while gathering my wrists into one of his hands, holding them above my head and leaning down to kiss me again.

This kiss was even more heated and passionate than the last had been, with the added bonus of him seeking to make it deeper; his tongue didn't so much ask for permission to enter my mouth as just plunged in without preamble, twisting around mine in a dance that stole my breath and most of my resistance in one fell swoop. This infernal man… how was he so fluidly capable to bypass my defenses, knock my feet from underneath me, and make me feel so frickin' amazing while he did it? I didn't know, and I probably never would, but it seemed that I had, once again, lost the battle of wills at the mere touch of his lips and now, all hope was gone. I would not be able to withstand him again, and I would be torn to pieces when he ended us because of his father's disapproval and the sheer amount of differences between us. I couldn't bring myself to care right now, though…

I would take what I could, while he still loved and wanted me.

When he drew back from our kiss his gaze was heavy and meaningful, his lips lingering lightly over my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. "Do not think on what those fools have called you, Sakura…" he said, releasing his grip on my hands and running his own down my sides lightly. "If they had known who they were insulting… if they had the ability to _see_ you as I do… they would have been prostrate at your feet, begging for your regard." He whispered, nuzzling his nose against my collarbone while his fingers made their way to my belt buckle, slipping the leather through the metal fastener quickly. I bit my lip as he undid it the rest of the way, hesitantly brushing a few long strands of his hair back over his shoulder with my fingers. He seemed to sense my reluctance, glancing up at me through his long eyelashes before continuing.

"It is their loss that they are so blind… because any chance that _any_ man had of taking you as their own was lost the moment that I saw you. I have claimed you, tried my best to measure up to your level, yet even _I_ do not deserve you; if I cannot, they _never_ could. You are hardworking, perseverant, selfless, trustworthy, understanding, caring… phenomenally beautiful… exponentially capable of taking my breath away with a single glance… there is none that can compare to you, so ever will I labor to be on equal ground, because to lose you would be to cease existing." He said as he took my hand and pressed his cheek against my dirty palm insistently, disregarding my effort to pull back and smirking at the blush that rose to color my cheeks at his words. He was always claiming that I was better than he was, that he needed me for everything that I was, but I just couldn't see what he meant, no matter how hard I tried to understand. So I had taken up the habit of trying to be the least embarrassed that I could manage by his admitions of my worth to him, mostly ignoring it and moving on to another subject.

I could not, however, let him think that I would put up no fight with getting the grease on my hands all over him.

Seeing that wordless action would have no effect on making him understand why I didn't want to touch him, I fixed him with a reproving glare (which he smirked at, annoyingly). "Itachi, don't do that. My clothes and hands are covered in grease, dirt and muck from the yard, and I… don't… your suit…" I slowly fell silent under the lustful look he gave me, my protest fading into the background while I was still trying to make it. He shook his head in a mocking way while slowly undoing my zipper, the sound contrasting with the whir of his computer strangely while he tsked his tongue against the roof of his mouth antagonistically.

"How incredibly forgetful of you, Sakura… I had thought that I had made it abundantly clear to you that I care nothing for the clean or dirty conditions that you are in or for the state of the clothing that I am wearing in matters such as these when I came to visit you at the yard on Valentine's Day…" he murmured, placing his hands on my hips and grinding his groin against my own meaningfully. I blushed at the memory and the blatant evidence of his arousal both, averting my eyes in sheer embarrassment.

It had been raining heavily on the day he had just mentioned, and the fact that I had been working underneath a crane for most of the day had merely lent a hand to my decrepit state by adding mud and oil to the grease, rainwater, and labor made sweat covering my work clothes. He hadn't cared, however, riding me up against the side of the crane and making love to me anyway, completely ruining his suit, and paying no attention to the rain, mud, or eminent return of my crew; he had thoughts only for pleasing me and reaching his own completion.

Itachi watched my reminiscence with a half-smile before leaning down and pressing a gentle, careful kiss to my sunburnt nose, drawing me from my thoughts with ease. "Do you see, sweet one? You have no argument to present because you know, better than most, that I do not change my mind… and my desire today is as great as it was then, if not greater…" he muttered huskily as he ground against me again, one hand popping the button on my jeans with practiced ease and torso leaning over me at the same time so he could run his tongue up the length of my neck lingeringly.

I pulled away at this, making a face in sympathy of what he must have just tasted. "Itachi, please; my clothes are one thing, but my skin is another. If you want to do that, then let me go home and take a shower, but I'm all dirty and sweaty and gross right now…" I explained, trying to scoot away, but he growled lightly in protest, scooping my wrists up and pinning them above my head to halt my escape while licking my neck again pointedly, the rasp of his tongue on me making a shiver run up my spine unwillingly. "No. It has been twenty-two days since we have had sex, and I refuse to be kept waiting a minute longer than I have to. Besides, I taste nothing on your skin that even closely resembles "gross"… I taste the sun, and hard work, and desire, and _you_, lover… always you. Now be silent; my good humor wears thin, and your fruitless protests are starting to grate on my patience."

I could only stare at him as he moved his hands back down to my pants, finally sliding the rough material down my legs to pool around my boots (which I kicked off belatedly and thoughtlessly, letting my pants fall off onto the floor at my boyfriend's feet). He looked down at me tolerantly, waiting to see if my compliance would carry over, before he nodded minutely and dropped his gaze to my legs. He very nearly did a double take when he saw the underwear that I was wearing, however, staring at them incomprehensibly for a few seconds, his fingertips playing along the lacy edges lightly, before looking up at me again, the look in his eyes one that I wasn't all that familiar with; he was touched.

"These are the underwear that I bought for you." He said quietly, hands settling on my upper thighs, and I blushed and looked away. It hadn't been an accident that I had worn them today; I had been thinking about him this morning while getting dressed for work, depressed by the fact that I was waking up alone for the umpteenth time, and had put on the matching bra and panty set he had given me so that I would feel better (having a piece of him that close to me made me feel like we would be together forever, no matter how much of a lie the feeling was). I hadn't intended for him to see them and know that I had been thinking about him…

Yeah, I looked _real_ strong and resilient now.

He kept his gaze steadily on me, reaching up to brush the back of two fingers over my cheek. "Why are you wearing these? You told me that you did not need me or anything associated with me." He asked, quoting the words that I had yelled at him before storming out of his parent's home a half a month previous, and I swallowed heavily, keeping my eyes locked on the edge of his sleeping computer screen while admitting my guilt. "I… I missed you." I whispered, and his fingers found their way underneath my chin again, turning my face around to look at him. I tried to resist, too embarrassed by my statement, but he didn't allow it, fingers tightening to keep me facing him. I turned my eyes away instead, looking up at the ceiling stubbornly, and he snorted in response.

"Sakura, look at me." He demanded flatly, and when I shook my head, folding my arms in denial, he slammed his palm flat on the surface of his desk, a snarl surfacing through the calm that usually surrounded his demeanor. "_**Now**_, woman." He snapped, anger at me ignoring him flaring up, and I instantly looked down at him. When he was like this, it was best to give him what he wanted.

He looked appeased by my obedience, the fury making his eyebrows furrow over his thunderous, stormy grey eyes dissipating as my gaze met his. "There is no shame in feeling this way, Sakura… for I have missed you as well. It is only natural, with how long we have been together. Or is the reason for your fears because you doubt me? Do you distrust me when I tell you that you are the reason that I keep on living, or that you are the one thing that means anything in my life, or that I love you? Because if you do, I would like to know so that I can correct such thoughts." He said, looking at me staidly while calmly accusing me of not believing anything that he said, and my shameful blush of discovered mortification told him everything that he needed to know.

To say that the pain that shone in his eyes in that moment cut me to the quick would be an understatement.

He dropped his head into one hand, forefinger and thumb moving to pinch the bridge of his nose. "How many times do we have to go over this? If I say something to you, you should have no worries about its complete truth. What do I have to gain from lying to you? I am not the sort of man that spends his spare time playing the game that those of my sex enjoy so much, and I have no interest in hurting you with deceit and trickery. Would you like for me to believe that when you profess your love for me, you are lying? You would not, because your feelings are real and you would take offense in my disbelief. Then why are my own feelings any less real? Is it because of your fool notion that, since I have accumulated fortune and monetary claim, I should not care about someone like you, who has nothing but what you can make with your own two hands?" I flinched at the sheer upset in his voice as he questioned me, reaching out to touch his cheek comfortingly.

"Itachi… Itachi, I'm sorry. I don't want to think so badly of you, really I don't. You are a good person, and you don't deserve the judgments that I make of you. But you have to understand my point of view; it's not a question of you caring… it's a question of why you would even bother, when there are other women _far_ more fitting…" Him scoffing bitterly cut me off, and the glare that replaced his sadness made me shrink back as far as the desk would allow. "More _fitting_? For what? Sitting around all day doing nothing but whining and complaining about not getting enough attention? Wasting space and patience in all the wrong ways? Why would I want a spoiled, useless brat when I can have you, who by far outshines the competition in not only charm and demeanor, but in skill and interest as well? When I need a thoughtful opinion, I can talk to you and be inspired. When something needs to be done, you have all the abilities to do it yourself, even though I would do it for you in a heartbeat should you ever ask. Say what you will about anything else, but _never_ compare yourself to women who you _think_ I should be more interested in when you stand so high above the rest."

I stared up at him with my mouth hanging open, absolutely flabbergasted by his logic, and he remained stoic for a few more moments before chuckling, reaching a finger up to push my chin up with an easy grin lifting his lips. "On another, less tense note… I am extremely grateful to your ever distracting sunburn, sweet one… it has given me the opportunity to correct many things that are needful of fixing. They shall come to light, in time, but for now, I want nothing more than to forget everything else and remain here, with you, and have this be _all_. In this moment, I want to think of nothing but you." He said softly, brushing his lips over the aforementioned burn lightly, before tucking his forefingers into the waistline of my panties, slowly and lingeringly dragging them down the length of my legs.

His lips were gentle as they closed over mine once more, moving in raptured sync with my own while settling his body closer to mine on the top of his desk. They became devices of forceful silence and teasing mockery, however, when my body was suddenly invaded by one of his fingers, his mouth swallowing the surprised gasp of pleasure I let out with a wry smirk curling the edges up. I clutched at his shoulders desperately, reciprocating the best that I could with his tongue's insistent thrusts while my body shivered and contracted under ministrations of the same kind, my fingers tightening in the material of his suit coat far tauter than I had intended with every vicious plunge of his digit.

I honestly couldn't believe that Itachi was allowing this sort of behavior in his _office_… Perhaps it had been my unconscious fear of disturbing him, or upsetting the delicate balance of his workspace, but I had never even _thought_ of engaging such activities here of all places; we may have done the deed in every _other_ private place that we had been alone together in, but it seemed too… uptight here, I guess.

That didn't seem to hold any precedence now, since it seemed like there would be no stopping him (and I couldn't be bothered trying; good lord, he knew how to use his hands…).

With a snarky grin from him and another, louder gasp from me, a second of his fingers was added to the fray, his thumb moving up to rub gentle circles around my clitoris and making my back bow straight off of the desk in pleasure. His expression, when I could open my eyes long enough to look at him, was one of satisfied mischief, his eyes glittering wickedly in the late afternoon sun starting to shine red and gold rays through the window behind his desk, obviously delighted with watching me writhe beneath his touch.

His smirk grew as the pitch of my whimpers did, twisting his fingers as he worked my body to his will. "How your body sings to me, blossom…" he crooned, leaning down and stealing another kiss from my breathless lips. "You could be likened to a finely tuned instrument, to one with a philosophical mind; if you are played wrong, all sorts of chaos and disorder abound. But if you are played correctly… if your strings are plucked _just_ so…" He curled his fingers within me to prove his point, pressing directly on my well perused g-spot, and ripped a toe curling moan from me in response. He looked victorious, resuming his brutal thrusts unabashedly.

"Yes… if you are played accurately, my dear… such beautiful music you make."

He merely smiled at the glare that I sent his way for that comment, another well aimed press of his fingers wiping the look from my face effectively enough. Unsurprisingly (only unsurprising because of how long I had been practicing such activities with the man), it wasn't long, while being held under Itachi's skillful attentions, before I found my body tightening in hopeful anticipation of the orgasm that I could feel building quickly in my lower abdomen, my limbs squirming spastically and my forcedly quiet cries of pleasure (I was biting my finger by now so that we wouldn't alert anyone listening to our reprehensible undertakings) slowly spiraling out of control.

Much to my discontent, it was just as I was beginning to tumble over the sweet edge of my long awaited climax that he decided it was a good idea to withdraw from me completely, cutting me off at the pinnacle of my pleasure and forcing me through the sinking sensation of a shrinking, unsatisfied libido.

I immediately protested by reaching for his hand, to _make_ him continue, but he stepped out of my reach easily and snickered as I groaned in frustration. I growled at him warningly, glaring heatedly at the man standing across from me, and when he merely raised an eyebrow in answer, I lost my cool.

"God damn it, Itachi, that isn't _fair_! Finish what you started!" I very nearly yelled at him, remembering to keep quiet at the very last second, and he infuriated me further by shrugging, inspecting his fingernails uncaringly. "Do you take offense to such treatment? That is incredibly ironic… because five minutes ago, you professed that you did not desire any attention of this sort. Changing your mind so quickly is unbecoming, koishii." He admonished in a condescending manner, and I huffed irritably in response. "That was before you got me centimeters from coming! You know what? Fine. You want to hear me admitting defeat? I can do that. You got me to want you, Itachi. Congratulations. Now let me orgasm."

His expression changing to one of conniving foreboding made the irritation vanish instantly.

He stalked back over to lean over me, running his fingertips up the skin of my thigh and making me shiver with the motion. "I believe that I had another requirement regarding said admitions, my love…" he muttered softly, the hand that wasn't supporting his weight over me tracing down to play along the very edge of forbidden teasing territory. I rolled my eyes forcedly, hiding the nervous swallow that I had to take involuntarily. "And what was that?" I inquired quietly, and his grin lifted to mirror a Cheshire cat's. "I want you to beg for your end. I hold the key to your completion, and you know it, so plead with me. Ask me, as appealingly as you can, to give you what you want so much, and I, being the merciful lover that I am, will grant you such boon." I could give him nothing more than a bland look as the only thing that I could think of in response leaked from my mouth.

"You've _got_ to be kidding."

He raised his eyebrow again, looking down at me with measured entertainment. "Do I _ever_ jest?" he asked pointedly, and I glared up at him hatefully. Feeling incredibly undignified lying on his desk and begging for him to make me come, I grumbled for a few moments, debating the consequences of just downright refusing, before heaving a deep sigh. The only reason that I was doing this was because I knew that it would be worth the embarrassment in the end.

"Alright… fine. Have your little fantasy. Please, Itachi, let me come." I grated out tonelessly, and he scoffed. "I think that just turned me off a little. You are going to have to do better than that." he said teasingly, moving his questing fingers back a few inches to further his obvious intention, and I groaned again. "Ugh… whatever." I snapped before switching to looking up at him pleadingly, reaching out to touch my fingers to his cheek lightly and licking my lips in a desperate movement. "Please… please Itachi… I want to come; sooooo bad… please let me… I promise I'll be good… please…" I begged him haltingly, forcing my voice to sound tearful and fraught with longing, and him growling in approval, eyes flashing with need, was the only warning I got before he thrust three fingers into me all at the same time, surprising a shrill yelp from me.

He looked like he was about to lose all control over his restraint as he forced my legs apart wider with his free hand, his gaze burning into me with every iota of lust he was feeling. "_Again_. Beg for it like you _mean_ it, and you will receive your ending." He commanded authoritively, snarling in his passion and hand almost cruel with the speed he was employing in his thrusts, and I immediately did so, not daring to deny him when he was so taken by his insatiable desire. It wasn't hard to be convincing now, really… not with how the curling in my stomach was making its slow yet steady reappearance. "Yes, yes…" I gasped breathlessly, gazing up at him in rapture. "Oh _god_, yes… please, please, give me my end…"

He was obviously and steadily losing more and more of his control, his chest rumbling threateningly at my slight (I don't know why, but he _hated_ it when I said god instead of his name while we were engaging in intimate activities) and his eyes narrowing dangerously when I made no move to correct it. Glaring at me vehemently through the lust clouding his eyes, he leaned down and nipped at my bottom lip admonishingly while furthering his efforts to pleasure me while at the same time withholding my orgasm. "There are no gods here. Say the name of the one pleasing you, and I will grant you your desire."

My breathing was becoming labored as the buildup in my abdomen started to become unbearable, my hands fisting in the material of his coat and my mouth open in hopes of catching a breath of air, but I made no move to give him his last whim. I was so close… he wouldn't _dare_ stop again… I was wrong, apparently, because after a few seconds of continued rebellion from me, he started to withdraw again. I hurriedly muttered the name he was waiting for, bucking my hips against his hand desperately and meaningfully.

Discontent warred with the unquenchable lust in his gaze, and he shook his head as the very last of his control seemed to slip away, leaving behind the animal that I knew and loved. "_Louder_, princess. Tell me who is bringing you to your climax. Tell me who your lover is. Tell me who it is that is about to fuck you until you scream." He ordered gruffly, the dirty word hissing from him like a dark promise made in shadowed corridors, and the sheer, _feral_ lust in his voice added the very last inch of stimulation that I needed to push me over the edge, his name leaking from my lips over and over in a chorus of praise while shivers of completion racked my entire body.

The very second that I had stopped convulsing, the stars blocking my vision fading and my breathing returning to normal, Itachi pulled his fingers from me, lifting them and lapping at the juices that were produced by my climax seductively, dragging his gaze down my body slowly yet heatedly at the same time (I could almost literally feel the path that his eyes traveled, his gaze was so passionate in its emotion).

I blushed at his indecency, untangling my hands from his now slightly wrinkled shirt sleeves and smoothing my hands down the expanse of my own shirt, trying to pull the ends down to modestly hide my nakedness from his searching gaze awkwardly. It was with this motion that I, apparently, did what he had been waiting for, because with another, deeper growl of male satisfaction, he stopped running his tongue over his fingers and started very quickly undoing his belt, his eyes locked with mine intentionally with such hunger in them that I trembled in anticipation.

I was going to have to act quickly if I wanted anything besides getting screwed on top of his desk, and the fact was, I really didn't. My back was already starting to ache from just lying on the hard, smooth surface, and the usual amount of time it took for him to come varied between twenty and thirty minutes… I didn't think I could handle that.

I immediately tried to divert him, struggling to sit up and slide off of the desk. "Itachi, no. Come on, this is going to be uncomfortable; let's do it on the couch…" I started, touching down on the carpeted ground lightly, but instead of being allowed to continue in my forward motion, I suddenly found myself spun around and forcefully bent over the surface I had just been lying on, my feet being kicked apart roughly and my hands being restrained behind my back. I could feel him shifting behind me as he continued to undress one handed, and when his belt buckle hit the floor resoundingly I attempted to turn around and look at him, intent on reprimanding him for detaining me. He didn't allow this movement, however, merely tightening his hold on my hands and delivering a sharp slap to my rear end for struggling. "I have no desire to experiment on a surface we have already sampled, precious… and I want to be able to recall this moment when I am forced to work long hours or sit through tedious discussions; imagining you spread ever so invitingly over the edge of my desk, just waiting for me to pleasure you, will be a most welcome diversion from the tedium I am forced through every day."

Have I ever mentioned that Itachi Uchiha is, among other things, a pervert?

"You still take the pills?" he asked conversationally as he took a step closer to me, sounding as if he were curious about the weather and not getting ready to screw his girlfriend in his office, and I couldn't help the small giggle that accompanied the nod that I answered him with, legs quivering as I felt him rub the very tip of his manhood against my entrance shamelessly, obviously testing the waters. Sometimes he amazed me with how nonchalant he could be about nearly everything. He made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, releasing my captured hands from his tight grasp and moving his hand down to anchor on my hip. "That is good… I had no opportunity to prepare for this encounter and as such, have no condoms. I would have hated to get you pregnant." He mused aloud, and I was just about to turn and stare at him incredulously when he thrust his hips forward, filling me completely and jerking a surprised, pleasured cry from my throat.

It took me a few moments to regain my breath, during which time he held still, allowing me to adjust to him, but when I had I looked over my shoulder at him as best I could, smirking slightly at how tight his teeth were clenched as he restrained himself. "That isn't like you, Itachi… you are the one always insisting that we be safe, and yet you would have still had sex with me with no protection at _all_? It hasn't been _that_ long since we've slept together." I admonished, and he snorted before withdrawing nearly all the way and slamming back in jarringly hard, nearly knocking over his jar of pens as he did. "It has been long enough. I have been craving your body for many lonely nights… and the small matter of an accidental pregnancy would not have stopped me from having my way with you." He said plainly as he began to set up a steady rhythm with his hips, and I blinked while curling my fingers around the edge of the desk, trying to hold myself in place as my body rocked back and forth with his insistent motions.

"That… is very unfair. If I had gotten pregnant… I really don't know what I would have done." I muttered haltingly, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I was already having enough trouble with money, and if I were to get pregnant, I wouldn't be able to work where I did any longer; there would be too much strain on both the baby and myself. I would have to find another job, a way to pay for everything… explain it to my parents… him saying that it wasn't a big deal hurt a _lot_. I felt him lean over me from the tickle of his breath on the back of my neck and the pressure on my lower back, and looked up at him grudgingly from the corner of my eye. He raised an eyebrow, fixing me with a flat look while continuing the pistoning of his hips firmly, slowly making the ache of arousal return and causing my mouth to fall open so I could breathe properly. "The solution would have been a simple one: we would have married, and I would have taken care of you. That is, however, not something that I intend to have occur. My plans would be devastated by such a gaffe."

His answer merely reinforced my fears of our relationship's sure ending, but I was distracted away from that depressing thought by something else that he said; we were here for a reason besides having sex, after all. "Speaking of "taking care of me"…" I said before being forced to stop all of a sudden as he pressed quite hard against my cervix, my words tangling into a jumbled mess on my tongue while being replaced by breathless moans, before I managed to find my ability to speak again. "As I was saying, weren't we… oh, _god_… I mean Itachi; deeper… yeah, right there… uhm… weren't we here to talk about those… mmm… those fights?"

I could practically feel his grin on the back of my head every time his thrusts interrupted my train of thought, and him angling himself so that he repeatedly rammed against the most sensitive places inside me _must_ have been intentional. Bastard… "Ah, yes…" he muttered as if just remembering, placing his hands on either side of me on top of the desk and rolling his hips slowly, dragging a guttural moan from me. "How could I have forgotten? I must have gotten distracted by something… thank you for reminding me. The news on that front is, however, not what you are hoping for, I am sure; unfortunately, it would not do for me to overlook such lapses in my employees' judgment, and as such, I must take authoritive action."

My heart dropped into my stomach, cold and raw anticipation making my back snap straight and causing Itachi to growl in annoyance at my change in posture. "But… you said that you wouldn't have to fire them… you _just_ said…" I protested weakly, forcing myself to loosen up for him, and he kissed the back of my neck in response to the action before cutting off my objections with a particularly hard thrust. "I am not going to fire _them_. It is your responsibility, as the person that hired them, to keep them in line, and you alone have failed in that. As such, the only logical or right thing to do would be to let the one with that failing go." With another desk shaking thrust, he moved his lips up to my ear and whispered, "You are fired."

How… how _dare_ he!

I clenched my jaw shut to stop myself from crying out at the next powerful slam of his hips on mine, averting my eyes and glaring at the top of the desk. I couldn't find the words to describe how mad I was right now. He… he fired me! While having _sex_ with me! What kind of asshole _does_ that? Really! I seethed quietly for a few moments over that, trying my hardest to stay pissed, but was forced to let it go. This was Itachi; he wasn't known for his subtlety or his reserve, and if something needed to be done, it didn't matter what he was doing (or who), it would get done without remorse. I couldn't hold it against him for firing me and keeping my workers either; he was correct. It had been my duty to keep them in line, and I hadn't. I was at fault, so I should be the one to take the required punishment.

That didn't stop the bitter resentment boiling in my gut, though.

I felt slighted and virulent, hurt deeply from him ever so casually taking away my one lifeline. God damn it, he _knew_ how much I needed this job… how many times had he asked me to let him pay my bills so that things would be easier for me? How many times had he offered to let me move in with him so I could breathe easily at the end of the month? How many times had he scoffed at the meager contents of my refrigerator and bought me groceries despite my resistance? He was more than aware of my troubles with money, and yet he had still fired me. I was more than angry, more than resentful, more than afraid…

But it did no good to let this moment go to waste, since he would insist on finishing, so I might as well enjoy our coupling and try to think of what I would do about my situation later.

I cried out as he hit an especially reactive spot inside me, throwing my head back and moaning while he chuckled at my reaction, suddenly taking a step back and withdrawing from my body. He motioned for me to turn over when I sent him a querying look, and I did so immediately, turning over onto my back and wrapping my legs around his waist when he reentered me like he had never left, bending over me and eyeing me with a dubious expression while doubling his thrust's intensity. "Your expression tells me that you are unhappy with me. I can understand that, and more than expect it; I know how much what I have just done hurts you. I know that you are wondering how you will survive, what you will do, where you will go… listen to me well, Sakura. When I say that you have no need to worry about any of that, I want you to believe me. I did not make the decision of letting you go easily, and I have put a great deal of thought over the past few months as to what can be done to not only ease your monetary burden, but to help us grow closer and move on in life as well. I have arrangements planned for you, if you will listen."

What he was saying sounded a lot like pity to my ears, and I scoffed at him with what little breath that I had, hands clutching at his shoulders desperately once again. "I don't need your charity, Itachi. I can find another job by myself." I said gruffly, looking up at him determinately even though my eyes were starting to glaze over with passion, and he shook his head admonishingly. "I had no intention of helping you find employment, sweet one… in fact, if I have my way, you will never work another day in your life. Well, for money, anyway." He said with a snarky smirk, and my eyebrows furrowed. While he leaned down to kiss me deeply, his tongue sweeping in and out of my mouth in much the same fashion as his lower extremity was doing to my body, I couldn't help but find his explanation…

Weird.

What did he mean, I wouldn't have to work? I had been working ever since the day I had turned sixteen because I _had_ to. There was no way to live an honest life without money, after all, and it doesn't exactly grow on trees. "I don't… understand." I managed to mutter against his lips before my breath was stolen from me the umpteenth time, his hand having found its way down to stroke over my over sensitized clitoris. He pulled back from the kiss so that he could look into my eyes, his bangs swinging with his movements, and gave me the most serious yet most seductive look he had ever fixed me with. "I will explain further, then."

He tossed his head, throwing his bangs out of his eyes for a moment, before continuing. "Three years previous to now, I found myself in a state of quandary. I knew that I had a thriving business with me as the head, enough money to do anything that I wished, a long, bright future… but nothing really lasting. I had no legacy, since I had denied my father's by starting my own company. I had nothing through which I would be remembered besides being a flourishing businessman. I had no direction with which to go, and the moment that I realized this, I decided that I had to change that, for I refused to be the man that my father had become. I would obtain purpose, direction, and remembrance through one act; finding someone that I could share my life with that was not chosen for me. Someone that I would know was not with me for my money, or for my fame, or because they had been told to be, but for love. Someone who would be willing to go through hell and back for me, and would know that I would do the same. Someone strong, and willful, and with personality."

He shook his head, laughing quietly. "It was difficult to find such a person. Every woman that I tried to date, every girl that caught my attention was no more than a sham; a pretty face with nothing behind it but greed and laziness. I had begun to despair finding a woman suited to my tastes when I found the most peculiar file on my desk one morning. It had your personnel information within, detailing your need for a specific part that required my signature to be ordered and verifying the skill with which you would handle said part, and I was intrigued. A woman that worked in my shipping yard, as a crew leader especially, that had the nerve to ask for such an expensive part instead of making another from scrap like anyone else would have so that they wouldn't have to bother me. This indicated that you cared about the quality of your work and that you weren't afraid of standing up to your superiors to make sure that everything was done right, and that was the day that I found myself coming to the yard to supervise you and your crew. You handled your workers with an ease like I wasn't even standing there, barely giving me a glance and instead focusing solely on your work. I cannot deny that such a thing impressed me, but what interested me the most was you yourself. You could have done anything, with your natural beauty and intelligence. You could have been a model, or an actress, or even a doctor, but you chose to work with your hands, making the most honest living that there is. I found myself too interested to pass up the opportunity, despite the fact that such a relationship was looked down upon by my family and our social differences were incredible in their extremities, and took you on a date."

He bent down to kiss my lips repeatedly when his stimulation became too much for me, making my second orgasm rage through me, and kept on talking while I twitched and moaned beneath him. "I know that you are still embarrassed by the results of that night, but I knew the instant that you showed up in those ridiculous yellow Converse that you were the one that I had been looking for. You were not intimidated by me. You hadn't tried to impress me by flaunting your body or forcing me to acknowledge that you were a woman. You wore a Beatles t-shirt and ripped jeans, for god's sakes. I'm glad that you did, really; I'm not sure I would have been able to resist you if you had tried to seduce me, were you able to do such a thing. As such, however, I was able to see your more subtle charms instead of focusing on your body, and I discovered much that I found to my liking. You were funny and charming, witty and clever, enigmatic and yet ever so see through… I must admit that I had never desired a woman as much as I did you that night. Taking you to my bed had not been my intention, not that first night, anyway, but I did not regret it, and I never will, because I made the right choice. I found the right person for me. I love you more than anything else in the world, want nothing to ever come between us, and have every intention of making these past few weeks the very last time that we will ever be apart for more than a day at a time. I know that you love me, that you have no desire to leave me despite your hesitance over a few subjects in our relationship, and with this knowledge, I have a question."

I could only stare as his movements started to become less measured and precise, his hips grinding against me erratically. His entire speech I had been barely able to comprehend what he was saying, so lost was I in my love for him and the pleasure he was keeping me under, but now, I was completely aware. Electric sparks of excitement and nervousness played up and down my body that had nothing to do with our coupling; there was only thing that he could mean, and yet even now, my mind was trying to deny it. I bit my lip as his expression changed to one of patient hopefulness, and with his free hand (the other was planted firmly on the desk to support his weight) he reached into his coat pocket, took out a small, velvet covered box, and flipped it open with his thumb, revealing a gorgeous diamond engagement ring. "Will you marry me, Sakura?" he asked as his back started to bow over me, his breaths finally becoming labored as his own orgasm approached, and I could only gawk hopelessly, even my thoughts silent in shock as he gave a long, throaty groan of completion, his seed spurting into me and filling me with a warmth that I had missed, but I could barely pay attention because of the size of the bomb he had just dropped.

And I had thought that Hiroshima had had it bad.

Itachi recovered from his climax quickly, setting the still open ring box beside me, pulling from me and using a handkerchief from his pocket to clean himself off before pulling his pants up and indicating for me to do the same. While I fiddled with my clothes slowly, pulling my pants up at a snail's pace while my mind whirled ever faster from the still unanswered question that had been put to me, he was sitting down in the chair I had been seated in previous to being molested, arms on the arm rests and gaze locked on me. As soon as I had reinstated all of my clothes to how they had been he patted his thigh, indicating that I should seat myself on his lap, and once I had cautiously taken a seat he wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his lips to mine and looking up at me contentedly.

We sat together in silence for a few moments and stared at each other, he in expectance and me in blank thoughtlessness, before he laughed quietly and squeezed his arms around me gently. "I can assume, from your expression and your silence, that you are surprised by my question. I will give you as long as you need to consider this, as it is a fairly big step for one as young as you." This comment jerked a response from me, making me turn around fully in his lap and glare. "I'm twenty-five, Itachi. I'm not "young", and I'm only five years younger than you as it is. If I'm young, than you are too." He shook his head antagonistically, tracing his thumb over the pulse in the crook of my arm. "Five years can make all the difference, lover; I have lived for a little over three decades, and this gives me the opportunity to say that I am no longer "young". You, however, are still in your mid-twenties. Ask anyone; that is considered practically adolescent, nowadays."

I rolled my eyes, folding my arms and huffing. "Whatever. _Anyway_… I'm not really surprised, just… really!" I said when he gave me a look of disbelief, indignant over his doubt. "I'm _not_!" I protested with a whine in my voice, punching him lightly in the shoulder in protest, and his expression of skepticism didn't change. "I beg to differ, but since you insist, enlighten me; what are you, if not surprised? I had taken your jaw dropping in shock to be a telling indication of such emotion." He said with a knowing gleam in his eye, and I smiled at him sarcastically. "Just… ugh. Alright, I was a little surprised, but just because you've never given me any sort of vibes that this was even close to what you were looking for! Why should I have thought that you would propose to me?"

His corners of his mouth twitched down, and he sat back slightly, looking me over carefully. "_Never_? We have been dating monogamously for the past two years, I have offered you residence in my home more than once, I have professed my love to you over and over again… when did any of my actions _not_ indicate that I desired to spend the rest of my life with you? I have lived over a third of my years, Sakura; how many men my age are still looking for one night stands? Not many, and I am most certainly not one of them. Men come this far in life are looking towards the future now, if they haven't already, planning for marriage and children and such things."

I drew a quick breath, hopping in his embrace and making excited and accusatory sounds. "Ah ha! That's not true! When we were talking about condoms earlier you said that marrying me would mess up your plans! What was I supposed to think of that, huh?" I exclaimed, poking a finger in his chest, and he raised an eyebrow archly. "You took that comment completely out of context, and you obviously missed the way that I said it. Having a child before marriage has never been a part of my plans for us, and this is what I spoke of. I have every intention of getting a ring on your finger and celebrating a wedding with you _before_ beginning work on producing the heirs that my mother is so expectant of."

My confidence deflated as my excuse was stolen away, and I blinked heavily. "Oh." I muttered, feeling lost, and he smirked. "Do not feel bad, Sakura. I should not have expected you to see what I thought I was making far too obvious. But in any case… was this your only complaint? I have a feeling that it was not; say what is on your mind so that we can dismiss your fears and move you towards finding your answer. You know how I detest waiting." He said smoothly while fingering the end of my tangled ponytail lingeringly, and I bit at my lower lip, thinking of all the reasons still keeping me from screaming "YES!" to the wide, sun filled skies. His father's disapproval… had he forgotten how much he had protested against me being in his life? The situation with him seemed insurmountable… then there were all of the personal differences between us. How would we ever live together without tearing out each other's throats? We didn't fight all that often now, and when we did it was only over major things like when I had been forced to replace my old truck with a new one (he had wanted to help me pay for it so that I wouldn't have to take out a loan, and I had refused so resolutely and explicitly that it had actually driven him into a rage; Itachi was a fairly serene and calm man that merely rose his voice or glared lightly when his temper was ignited, but when he was _truly_ angered… you did not want to be on the receiving end or his rage, I promise), but things would be different when it was only us. Surely he must realize this…

I wasn't sure which subject to broach first; each seemed more embarrassing to have to bring up than the other, and I was almost convinced that he would withdraw his offer when I reminded him. Deciding that my continued silence would be worse than the embarrassment of my objections, I bolstered my courage and took the leap. "Well… I'm sure that you are familiar with the evening that we spent at your parent's house… and I'm concerned about that. What about… uhm… your dad?" I said tentatively, and he raised a quizzical eyebrow. "My father? What part does he have in this subject? I had not known that he was allowed an opinion of who I married… And here I had been thinking that I was a man in my own right and could do whatever I wished of my own accord without asking permission from my esteemed predecessor." I was taken aback by his nonchalant answer, staring at him blankly. "But… I thought… your dad said… we…" I stammered hesitantly, and he snorted lightly, brushing his fingers up and down the length of my arm. "My father says many things, and expects everyone that hears to take them to heart as you so obviously have. Unfortunately for him, and much to his knowledge and discontent, I have not cared about his opinion since he disowned Sasuke. And for your information, he only reacted to you so violently that night because I had just revealed to him, privately, my intention of marrying you; he, expectedly, tried to talk me out of it, but I refused to be moved. As such, he tried to manipulate you through harsh words to end our relationship through guilt. He has been taken to task for such a maneuver. Now, does that answer your questions, or are there more?"

I wanted very much to ask him how exactly he had reprimanded his father for such a horrible thing, but knew better than to try. He wouldn't answer me anyway, so it was a waste of breath and time, and so I, running out of reasons for feeling so nervous, laid out my next (and last) excuse. "I… I just think that it would be hard for us. Being so different and all… you like almost none of the same things that I do, and everything that we are, pretty much, is different. It… it would be like trying to force together two pieces of different puzzles. We would fight all the time, things would get nasty and hateful and…" I explained, growing nervous as he looked at me silently in response, and when an understanding and doting smile lifted his lips, I drew back slightly in confusion. He didn't allow me to move far, tightening his grip on my waist and leaning forward to kiss me before looking into my eyes deeply. "Listen well, Sakura." He said, his tone deep and velvety, and I could only nod in response due to my throat clogging with sheer amazement at being in this situation, and with my approval, he continued.

"Such a thing as our dissimilarities, which are not so many as you have exaggeratedly indicated, is needful for a relationship to be successful, dear one… our differences are what make us so compatible. It is the nature of things; where one entity ends, another begins, and everything comes together in an endless circle, one taking the place where the other cannot. This has been the way of the universe since the beginning of time. Our love is akin to ebb and flow, push and pull, high and low… yin and yang. We are two sides of one whole, and one without the other makes balance impossible. This is not to say that there will not be clashes of wills, of course; this is expected, and we will do what we must to overcome the problems as they arise, because we, koishii, are meant to be. We are as the sun and moon, both shining in their own way, ever circling in an endless chase, but never able to shine together because of the earth blocking their joining. Were it to be removed, however, they could be as one, and the two greatest lovers would finally be together. This metaphor is very close to the mark for us, and, in answer to your earlier query regarding this same issue, I have endeavored to remove the object keeping _us_ apart. I am well aware of the reason that you have distanced yourself from me these past few weeks: my father's attempt to scare you away from me worked much better than he will ever know. This fact angered me quite inescapably, and after communicating my distaste for such a low move in a very uncouth, explicit manner, I delivered an ultimatum to him, detailing that if he cannot keep his opinions to himself and support my decisions, then he will no longer be a welcomed part of my life. He agreed to keep his peace, so have no fear; he will not intrude on our future life together as long as he values his relationship with me. Are you satisfied by this?"

I wanted to say something related to him practically disclaiming his own father, but couldn't help the giggle that arose in response to his five minute long speech. "Itachi… if I ever told anyone that you are a cheesy romantic, I don't think that they would believe me." He merely shrugged in response, smiling slightly and ticking his finger against my nose. "That would be because only you are privy to this side of my personality. I would not so easily strike fear into the hearts of all if I were to be revealed as such." He said simply, and I laughed before letting my smile fade, my gaze falling on the ring box on his desk. I felt him grow still beside me as well, and I swallowed anxiously. He had explained away all of the reasons for me to be afraid, more than swept away my doubts…

Why did I feel so scared then?

I reached out hesitantly, taking the small box in my palm and looking at the ring that he had chosen especially for me with detached interest. He let me muse over it in silence for a few seconds before taking the ring from the box, holding it up in front of me in an obvious offer. "Tell me what you are thinking, Sakura-hime." he said quietly, resting his chin on my shoulder and watching my expression carefully, and I looked at the ring he held with barely veiled distress.

"I… I'm afraid. I don't know if I can be what you need me to be, Itachi… what if you get tired of me? What if you find someone better? What if I…" My protests were cut off with his hand over my mouth, his eyes communicating his displeasure over those comments. "That will not happen, Sakura. I am not asking for much… I want only you, your love, your devotion, and at least one child with your angel eyes." He said calmingly, taking the ring box from me and taking my left hand lightly in his. "I will not grow weary of you, for who could deny the other half of their heart, their very _soul_? There is none better than you, so worry not on that account… I can go on for hours, my love. I can turn away any protest that you have with fact and reason, and we will still be at the same point that we are now... so why do we not get straight to the point?"

He pulled his hand back from my mouth, letting it drift lightly down my neck to rest over my heart. "Let your over calculating and worried mind rest, and instead, answer with your heart. Answer me how you really want to, because in life, you should be able to get what you desire at least once. So tell me… Sakura Haruno, will you marry me?" I looked back at him searchingly, teeth worrying my bottom lip and breaths quick, before I closed my eyes and spoke.

* * *

"So let me get this straight… Itachi Uchiha, head of the whole company and boyfriend extraordinaire, called you to his office all the way across town to chew you out for not asking for his help and then, in effect, proposed to you, fucked you on top of his desk, and fired you."

"No, no, no, Kakashi; you've got it all wrong! He fired her, proposed to her, and _then_ fucked her on top of his desk."

"Fuck, dobe; do you have pencils in your _ears_, too? He fired her and proposed to her _while_ fucking her on top of his desk."

"Why did he fuck you on the desk, anyway? I thought that he had a couch in there."

"Can we direct the subject away from my love life and over to the fact that I have to pick one of you for my old job? Please?" I grumbled as I stretched out my legs in the easy chair that I sat in at my apartment, balancing my laptop on my knees and watching the four different windows on the screen with distinct annoyance. I would have been happy to call each of my friends separately to tell them the news, but Naruto had insisted that it would be more "fun" to do as a video chat, so I had grudgingly allowed them to all log in on the online messenger we shared so we could talk face to face.

I should have said no.

Naruto was goofing around, sticking pencils up his nose and trying to twirl the noodles in his bowl of ramen around them without them falling out. Sai was obviously drawing curly mustaches on all of our faces on his computer screen and having far too much fun doing so, if the entertained half smiles he kept making for no reason were any indication. Sasuke was, with a great deal of difficulty, trying to work out and talk to us at the same time (he accidentally dropped a barbell on the same foot I had kicked earlier and went into a very entertaining five minute cursing monologue). Kakashi was, surprisingly, the only one paying any real attention, having actually put down his magazine to talk to us directly.

I wasn't sure which was stranger.

"No way, Sak, your sexual exploits with the boss are way too fun to talk about. My all-time favorite was that time that we were coming over to drag you out drinking with us and you two were doing the nasty on the kitchen counter. I still don't understand why there was spaghetti sauce everywhere and how spilling it turned into a romantic moment, but still." Sai said laughingly, tracing his finger across where Naruto's head would be on his screen, and Sasuke scoffed, hefting one of his hand weights over his shoulder and wiping a trickle of sweat from his forehead.

"That _was_ pretty sexy, but I still think that finding them having a quickie in the middle of my living room when they were _supposed_ to be waiting for us to finish getting ready was the hottest thing we've ever found them doing." He said with a snarky smirk aimed at my window, and I flipped him off while Naruto snorted his pencils out, wiping his nose on the back of his hand and shaking his head in denial of that statement.

"Shit on that, teme, the security tape we found of them in that dressing room in the mall was _way_ better than that. I never knew Sakura-chan was kinky enough to do _that_." He said loudly, pointing the snot covered pencils at his screen, and both Sasuke and Sai nodded in acceptance of that, agreeing that the tape that had supposedly been destroyed by my boyfriend was the most erotic thing they had ever seen me and Itachi do. Kakashi made a sound of contempt, however, holding up a hand and gaining all of our attentions.

"That was because none of you saw what they were doing at the yard on Valentine's Day."

I glared at Kakashi as the other boys started to clamor for details, silently threatening the death of his entire pornography collection if he divulged anything, and with his precious magazines at stake, he kept his rapt silence, much to the discontent of my other friends. "You're no fun, Sakura. We would tell you about our sex lives if you let us." Sasuke said with a whine in his voice, disappearing from view to start his sit-ups, and I made a noise of disgust. "Like I want to know about the girls you guys screw. And why do you want to know about the details of your brother's sexual experiences? That sounds suspicious to me, Sas-gay." I said wittily, and he sat up so that his eyes showed over the edge of his screen, rolling them obviously before sinking back out of sight.

"Very mature, Sakura. And as to my interest; it's nothing personal, really. Porn is porn, and the shit you guys get into is pretty damn hot." He said from out of sight, and I choked back a retch, trying not to imagine Sasuke jerking off while thinking of me and Itachi having sex. "That is sooooo disgusting, Sasuke. I don't even want to know about your fantasies." I said, holding up a hand in denial of further delving into the subject, and Naruto having a sudden choking fit while trying to swallow his whole bowl of noodles caught our attention.

He was waving his arms dramatically, trying to talk through his heavy coughs despite being completely and anatomically incapable of doing so, and when he got the message that we weren't understanding and that he wasn't going to stop choking anytime soon, he pointed to his left hand and tapped his ring finger, motioning between it and me obviously while pounding on his chest to dislodge the noodles stuck in his throat. Sai was quick on the uptake and instantly darted his eyes down to where my left hand was sitting on the keys of my computer, sitting forward to look at it. I quickly whipped it behind my back, however, hiding my grin as best I could when he looked up to glare at me.

"Come on, Sak; spill it. You said he proposed, but you never told us whether you accepted or not." He said warningly, and my other friends instantly caught on, Kakashi turning a baleful look on me while Sasuke shot straight to his feet, breathing heavily and eyeing me pensively. "She would be all but insane if she didn't." Kakashi said, leaning forward on his hand in interested expectance, and Sasuke merely looked at me steadily, his eyes intense and searching. I rolled my eyes, keeping my hand behind my back purposefully. "You guys are worse than girls with how much you like to gossip, you know that? What does it matter whether or not I'm getting married?" Naruto, now fully recovered from his near death by ramen, spluttered indignantly at my comment, holding a hand to his chest and looking hurt. "Because it _matters_ to us, Sakura! Were your best friends! I told you about wanting to propose to Hinata, didn't i? Sai told you about wanting to go back to college, Sasuke told you about his wet dreams, and Kakashi… well, he doesn't tell anybody anything, but he showed you why he wears that damn eye patch! So now it's your turn!" he said loudly, making the speakers on my computer screech, and I received three looks of equal agreement from my other friends, my screen completely silent and awaiting my answer.

I frowned slightly, averting my eyes and clenching my jaw. "Guys… it's just that… I didn't… I couldn't decide how I should say it…" I said brokenly, and Naruto gasped dramatically while Kakashi sat back, flabbergasted, Sai staring like he hadn't understood what I had said and Sasuke sitting forward, narrowing his eyes. "You turned him down? Why?" he queried gruffly, looking like he needed the answer more than anything he ever had before, and I cackled evilly, pulling the hand that sported my engagement ring out from behind my back and presenting it to them.

Cries of indignant surprise rang from my speakers as my team realized that I had been messing with them, glares once again replacing their emotions. "That was a dirty trick, Sakura." Kakashi said reproachfully while Naruto breathed heavily, having just been ready to have a literal freak out. I shrugged, looking with concern at the disappointment that had overtaken Sasuke's face. "You should know better than to expect anything less from me, guys. It's your fault for being so gullible." I said smugly, about to continue on to ask if my flirtatious friend was okay before he seemed to realize that I was looking at him, a forced smirk replacing his disappointed expression quickly and flawlessly.

I wasn't fooled by his attempt to hide his feelings and would have called him out on it if my other friends hadn't immediately started questioning me on the details of the arrangement, making me divulge the date of the wedding, what colors I wanted, and everything else that they could think of off of the tops of their heads, easily distracting me from Sasuke's mysterious mood change and making the time fly by. Only when the pinks, purples, and blues of a vibrant sunset were spilling through the blinds on the window across from me did they stop their questions, each claiming to need to start fixing dinner soon or that they would starve to death, promising to log back on to talk about one of them taking my place after they ate.

One by one they logged off, their goodbyes reluctant and drawn out, until only Sasuke and I remained, he staring down at his clenched hands and me wondering why he hadn't started to say goodbye yet. He usually always had some kind of excuse for being the first to go look for food… I was just about to ask, too taken by my curiosity, when he finally spoke.

"It was never a game to me."

My eyebrows furrowed at his forcedly calm statement, and I looked at his whitening knuckles warily. "What wasn't?" I asked cautiously, and he looked up at me through the bangs hanging over his forehead antagonistically before scoffing bitterly and turning his face away. "The two years that I've been trying to steal you from my brother. I know that you just brushed it off, thinking nothing of it… but it wasn't a game. I wasn't just toying with you or deliberately being an ass… I never realized until Itachi had you how much I relied on you. How much I needed you to be the constant girl in my life. Always there for me to call, always ready to hang out or study or just talk… and as soon as I lost that, I knew why I had always wanted it. I had fallen in love and I didn't even know it… but I guess I should have seen before someone else did, huh? I should have been there for you like you were for me. I shouldn't have ditched you when I was supposed to be taking you to prom. I shouldn't have said no when you asked me out in high school. I lost my chance, and I knew it the second I saw how happy you were with him… but I didn't want to believe it. I had finally realized that I was in love and I completely believed that I could reclaim you. But tonight… being forced to acknowledge that you've taken the step that puts you completely out of my reach… it hurts, knowing that my only shot is gone now."

My mouth fell open, so shocked was I by his admition. I had never known… "Sasuke… I'm so sorry…" I muttered, lost as to what I should say to him, but he cut me off with a wave of his hand, shaking his head and turning back to me with a world weary look in his eyes. "No. Don't apologize for moving on to someone who could give you what I didn't when you asked for it. I am so much more the fool for turning you down, for taking what I had for granted, and it took losing you completely for me to see. It's my fault for being so blind, and I deserve the pain. I didn't tell you to make you feel guilty, or try to get you to give me a chance… I just wanted you to know why I wouldn't be able to come to the wedding."

A gasp of hurt escaped from me before I could hold it back, and I glared at him heatedly in response to his statement. "But you _have_ to come! We've been friends forever, Sasuke, please… don't let this push our friendship apart…" I begged, and he turned his face away, clenching his jaw. "That's not fair, Sakura. You can't ask me to sit there and watch while I lose you forever." I sighed, dropping my head into my hand. "Sasuke, you're not losing me. We can still be friends after this, and besides; someday you're going to meet a girl that puts me to shame, and then what? You'll turn her away because you're pining over a romance that never happened? I want you to be able to have that when it comes, so listen to me: I'm not saying that it won't hurt you, and I'm sorry that it will, but I want you to be there so that you can find an end for yourself and so that I can have all of my friends with me on the happiest day of my life."

He looked back at me pensively, his gaze flicking over me quickly, before he sighed, burrowing a hand into his bangs and scratching his scalp. "You're probably right. Everything in me is saying that I should keep holding on to my feelings for you, but… I guess what you're saying makes sense." He said reluctantly, and I grinned happily, jumping in my seat. "So you'll come, right?" I asked quickly, and he smirked. "As long as I don't have to wear a dress."

I rolled my eyes, joining him in easy laughter, before biting at my lower lip. "You know, Sasuke… I've been thinking that I want you to take my place. You know how to do all of the things that I do, you're a competent leader… and as long as there isn't anything female within a few square miles, you are pretty focused." He gave me a sarcastic smile at my last comment. "Ha ha. But are you sure? Kakashi is older and more experienced… if you're just feeling sorry for me because of what we were just talking about, then that's not…" I cut him off quickly, giving him an admonishing look. "I'm not. You deserve it, with how hard you work. I think that you'll do great."

He looked me over silently for a few minutes before nodding. "Okay, well I guess that I can accept that then. I'm gonna go find some food now before the others get back on, okay?" he said as he stood, and I nodded, motioning with my hand that it was alright for him to go and feeling much better inside for our mutual understanding. "I'll be here when you get back." I said, beginning to move my cursor over to the x in the corner of his window, before him calling my name garnered my attention. "Yeah?" I asked, and he leaned over to look back in the camera over his computer. "I'm just going to warn you now… if Itachi ever messes up, if he ever cheats or anything… I'm going to be there to take you from him whether he likes it or not." His promise made me laugh. "That would be an interesting fight to see. I'm sure you know better than anyone else that Itachi isn't like that." He shrugged in response. "Nevertheless. Just remember that." he said before turning his back and walking out of view, and I closed out of his window before leaning back in my chair and stretching, looking over the top of my computer screen at the colors playing across my floor with a half-smile, the great heavenly disk of light creating the scene sinking slowly over the wooded horizon.

The sun.

The scorchingly hot sphere of burning gas that trails across the sky every day no matter what. It dries up necessary water, kills anything left too long beneath its rays, and enjoys disrupting cell phone signals with solar flares in its spare time. It had made me look like crap and smell like it too, caused my crew to overheat and defend me more violently than I am still sure that those men deserved, and had given me an embarrassing and distracting sunburn on my nose that had sprung my boyfriend (now fiancée) into the action of proposing marriage to me. It is annoying, inconvenient, does nothing but cause trouble…

I think that I love it.

_

* * *

D: and I had thought that it was going to be short. Jesus, that became quite the production… I like it though. I don't know what I should label it as though… I don't know if it's funny enough to be called humor, but I'll just say that it is and shove that in with the romance title. Eh. Anywho, leave me a review! I want to know what you guys thought about my second lemon scene! Tell me what a lazy, unfocused person I am! I don't care what you say, but hit those little blue words under this AN and drop me a line!_


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